Most people in the UK would take pride in the fact that whatever your political persuasion you can take part in free and fair elections. But two new reports suggest that this right isn’t always all it seems.
The Electoral Commission – the government’s own watchdog – has warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be excluded from voting the next time the country goes to the polls because of new laws on voter ID. 4% of those who didn’t vote in the local council elections in May told the Commission that ID was an issue for them, and that figure rose for those who were from minority backgrounds, younger voters and people with disabilities.
And when we do vote? Well a new report by Institute For Government and the Bennett Institute For Public Policy concludes that many people feel disempowered, not least because our first past the post system means that many who vote for smaller parties can feel their vote has been wasted.
Adrian Goldberg hears from Byline Times political editor Adam Bienkov, Dr Jess Garland, Director of Research and Policy for the Electoral Reform Society Shaun Roberts, Director of Campaigns, at Unlock Democracy.
Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.
Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.
Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times.
All content for Adrian Goldberg's Talk Show is the property of Adrian Goldberg's Talk Show and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Most people in the UK would take pride in the fact that whatever your political persuasion you can take part in free and fair elections. But two new reports suggest that this right isn’t always all it seems.
The Electoral Commission – the government’s own watchdog – has warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be excluded from voting the next time the country goes to the polls because of new laws on voter ID. 4% of those who didn’t vote in the local council elections in May told the Commission that ID was an issue for them, and that figure rose for those who were from minority backgrounds, younger voters and people with disabilities.
And when we do vote? Well a new report by Institute For Government and the Bennett Institute For Public Policy concludes that many people feel disempowered, not least because our first past the post system means that many who vote for smaller parties can feel their vote has been wasted.
Adrian Goldberg hears from Byline Times political editor Adam Bienkov, Dr Jess Garland, Director of Research and Policy for the Electoral Reform Society Shaun Roberts, Director of Campaigns, at Unlock Democracy.
Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.
Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.
Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times.
Has Britain officially become a police state? That might seem like an over-egged question, but thanks to legislation introduced by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the authorities will now have the power to restrict any protest that could cause a “more than minor hindrance or delay” - and its the police who'll be able to define precisely what that means.
As if that wasn't serious enough, the mechanism by which the law was passed also has troubling implications for our liberties.
A first attempt to introduce the proposal was rejected by the House of Lords, but the government reintroduced it as "secondary legislation" which, according to constitutional convention, can't be blocked by the upper chamber. But was this use of parliamentary procedure itself an abuse of process?
Katy Watts, a lawyer with Liberty tells Adrian Goldberg why the civil rights group is taking the government to court over the issue.
Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg.
Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.
Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times.
Adrian Goldberg's Talk Show
Most people in the UK would take pride in the fact that whatever your political persuasion you can take part in free and fair elections. But two new reports suggest that this right isn’t always all it seems.
The Electoral Commission – the government’s own watchdog – has warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be excluded from voting the next time the country goes to the polls because of new laws on voter ID. 4% of those who didn’t vote in the local council elections in May told the Commission that ID was an issue for them, and that figure rose for those who were from minority backgrounds, younger voters and people with disabilities.
And when we do vote? Well a new report by Institute For Government and the Bennett Institute For Public Policy concludes that many people feel disempowered, not least because our first past the post system means that many who vote for smaller parties can feel their vote has been wasted.
Adrian Goldberg hears from Byline Times political editor Adam Bienkov, Dr Jess Garland, Director of Research and Policy for the Electoral Reform Society Shaun Roberts, Director of Campaigns, at Unlock Democracy.
Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.
Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.
Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times.
